The device, while still likely to garner a premium price-tag, will help Apple compete with the burgeoning smaller tablet market.

The 7-inch Google Nexus tablet sells for £159 for the cheapest version, while Amazon is also producing a budget tablet range.

Steve Jobs was
unconvinced that a smaller tablet would be a success, seeing it as a
poor compromise between a tablet and a phone.

However Apple appears to have had a change of heart, particularly now that the tablet market has now matured.

One issue Apple might face by launching a Mini is a fragmentation in its core product lines.

Until the release of the iPhone 5,
Apple's two product lines had kept the same screen resolution, meaning
apps did not need redesigning for different devices, a problem that plagues the competing Android platform.

But with the increased screen size of
the iPhone 5, some apps now have a black border, at least until the
developers update their apps, and this problem may now afflict Apple's
tablets, depending on the final size of the Mini.

Front and back: Alleged sightings of the iPad Mini suggest it retains the simple, minimalist style of previous models

According to these images, the iPad Mini comes with dual speakers on the rim, as well as the newly-designed dock connector

However this is unlikely to cause
much of a worry to either developers or customers, as most apps will be
updated quickly and developers still only have a small number of devices
to consider, unlike Android which has hundreds of combinations of
models, screen sizes and software versions.

Apple does not speak publicly on
future devices, so the launch will not be confirmed until a minimalist
white envelope arrives to the media, inviting them to meet the newest
member of the Apple family.

Apple are hoping to enter the 7-inch tablet market with the expected unveiling of their iPad 'mini'